CHAPTER FOUR
Though smaller, Roak Palace didn’t look that much different than the king’s castle with its stone battlements and square towers. In fact, it reminded Janelle of something straight from a storybook about brave knights and handsome kings.
“And you’re sure I’m not pregnant?”
“No, rikka. I would sense it.”
Janelle frowned. “Is there something wrong with me?”
This made her male chuckle. “No, there is nothing wrong with you. Conception during a female’s first heat is not always guaranteed.” He stopped her outside the towering wooden doors of the palace and bent to kiss her forehead. “Be well, my mate. There will be plenty of opportunities to try again.”
“Jordan’s pregnant,” she argued.
Vischer brushed the hair back from her face and kissed her with a tenderness that brought tears to her eyes. “As I said, there is nothing wrong with you, rikka. You are perfect in every way. When you have recovered and are strong enough, we’ll try again.”
In the beginning, before she’d met Vischer, she’d been so adamantly against being used as a breeder that it seemed crazy she would worry that she wasn’t pregnant now. Yet, there it was. An unfamiliar longing had taken up residency in her heart, and when she thought about holding a child in her arms—a child with her blue eyes and Vischer’s dark hair—the ache grew so intense it stole her breath.
With her arm looped through Vischer’s, Janelle pushed away those thoughts and shifted closer to her mate as the massive, double doors opened with a low groan. Warriors lined the wide corridor beyond, and as she and Vischer passed, they all lowered to one knee and bowed their heads.
That was going to take a while to get used to, if she managed to ever find it normal at all. The idea of being Lady of Roak Palace overwhelmed her with quiet dread. She didn’t know exactly what her responsibilities would be, but she understood she was meant to lead the people of Black Winds by her mate’s side, and she sure as hell wasn’t ready for that. For fuck sakes, it had taken her six months just to figure out how to operate her thermostat.
“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted aloud to no one in particular. “I’m so not ready for this.”
“I will guide you,” Vischer promised. “You are Lady of Roak Palace,” he added. “You do as you please.”
That wasn’t helpful in the least. “What if I say something wrong?”
“You will be in good company,” her mate answered with a chuckle.
Great. “What if I eat with the wrong fork?”
Vischer’s brows drew together for the briefest of moments, probably trying to figure out what a fork had to do with her anxiety. Then, he simply shrugged. “Eat with your hands.”
“What if—” She cut off abruptly and moaned when Vischer took her face between his big, rough palms and kissed her breathless.
“You are strong. Intelligent. Courageous.” He punctuated each compliment with more kisses. “You will adjust quickly, I have no doubt. As for our people, they are blessed to call you their lady, and they will do well to remember it.”
His words were like a soothing balm to her frayed nerves, but despite his assertion, he couldn’t control everything. “You can’t make them like or trust me.”
His black, oval-shaped irises bled out to obscure the amber sclera, but snapped back to normal almost instantly. “Watch me.”
Sighing, Janelle opened her mouth to further argue her point, but froze when a high-pitched, feminine voice echoed down the stone corridor.
“Vischer! Vischer, you’re back!”
Janelle turned to watched the Vor female hurrying toward them. Her hair was just as black as Vischer’s, with the same strange eyes, but she probably wasn’t more than an inch or two taller than Janelle’s own five-foot-nine. The pale blue gown she wore molded to her curves like a second skin, highlighting her wide hips and ample cleavage to perfection.
Janelle hated her instantly.
The female breezed past her, purposely ignoring her as she wrapped Vischer in a tight embrace. To his credit, the male didn’t hug her back, and he looked awkward as fuck trying to pry her away without hurting her.
Luckily, Janelle didn’t have the same hang-ups about causing her injury. Grabbing her by the upper arm, she jerked the female back and stepped to the side, effectively placing herself between the smiling tart and her mate.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“How dare you touch me.” Her indignant gaze swept past Janelle to the chieftain. “Vischer?”
“Nope.” Janelle snapped her fingers in front of the female’s face to get her attention. “Right here. Now, tell me who you are.”
She felt more than saw Vischer tense behind her, and when he spoke, his tone was as hard as granite. “Answer her, and mind your tone when you speak to my mate.”
“Your mate?” The female’s eyes widened almost comically, and she stumbled back half a step. “Kaysa Sorko,” she answered, her eyes raking over Janelle with a disapproving edge. “Forgive my rudeness.”
Only, it sounded more like “fuck off” to Janelle. That was fine with her. As a general rule, she tried to avoid conflict, but she had no problem being a catty wench when the situation called for it. This was far and wide one of those situations.
“Look, I don’t know who the hell you are, and I don’t really care. Vischer is mine. So, you can stop with the smitten smiles and doe-eyed glances, tuck your double Ds back into that dress, and leave.”
Behind her, Vischer made a sound in the back of his throat somewhere between a snort and cough. Janelle ignored him.
“You think you’re special,” Kaysa responded, her eyes gleaming with malice. “You’re just a pet. Maybe favored now, but you’ll learn your place soon enough.”
“Kaysa!” Vischer barked, and even Janelle trembled from the threat in his voice.
Still, she didn’t need him to fight every battle for her, and especially not this one. She didn’t look at him, but she held her hand up and shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ve got this.”
It seemed Kaysa had realized what she’d just done, because the blood drained from her face, leaving her pale and ashen as she backed away. “Forgive me. I am close to my heat, and I am not myself.”
Janelle had no problem putting two and two together. Kaysa was close to her heat. She had greeted Vischer like an old lover. Clearly, he’d been the one she’d chosen to relieve her in the past, and maybe she even cared about him. She certainly seemed jealous enough.
Janelle didn’t care.
“You want to know where my place is?” Her words flowed like a dark, dangerous tide as she advanced on the female. “Right here. Right by his side. You want to know why?” She didn’t give the female a chance to respond, raising her voice when Kaysa tried to interject. “Because he chose me. Not you. I am Janelle Roak, Lady of Roak Palace, and when you speak to me in the future, you will do so with a little fucking respect!”
“Of course, my l—”
“I’m not finished,” she interrupted. “As for what you’ll do during your heat, not my problem, sweetheart. Find someone else, but stay away from my mate. Do I make myself clear?”
Kaysa stood straight, shoulders back, and nodded regally. “Yes, my lady.”
“Good. Now, fuck off.” Then, she turned to Nyko. “I want her gone. Don’t hurt her, and make sure she’s taken care of, but I don’t want her in the palace.”
The captain’s lips twitched as though he was fighting back a grin, but he simply bowed his head. “As you wish, my lady.”
As the adrenaline ebbed and reason returned, Janelle froze as she watched the captain escort the female down the corridor, mortified by her behavior. She wasn’t about to let the little harpy rub all over her mate, but she could have handle the situation a lot better. Goddamn it, she was so not cut out for this ruler shit.
When Nyko and Kaysa disappeared around the corner, Janelle took a deep breath before turning to face her mate. She didn’t know what she was going to say, but it didn’t matter, because she never got the chance.
With a deep growl, Vischer closed the distance, lifted her off her feet with his powerful arms, and claimed her mouth in a kiss that curled her toes. The confrontation completely forgotten, she held onto Vischer’s neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him back with everything in her.
Vischer was hard enough to cut stone as he carried his mate through the palace to their bedchamber. His sweet rikka had a temper, and one he wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of, but watching her defend what was hers had been the hottest fucking thing he’d ever seen.
He’d wondered how she felt about him, if she had followed him to Black Winds because she wanted to or because she felt she had no choice. In some ways, he supposed she didn’t, because he’d have declared war against the king himself to keep his mate with him. Hearing her call him her mate—a term unfamiliar to human lovers—had been like a burst of sunlight that had completely consumed him. When he’d surfaced from the onslaught of emotions, he’d wanted nothing more than to get his fiery mate naked against the nearest flat surface.
Once inside their bedchamber, he kicked the door closed behind him and lowered his mate to her feet, letting her feel every hard inch of him as he slid her down his body. He loved the way her bright blue eyes glazed when she looked up at him. He didn’t, however, expect the words that tumbled from her kiss-swollen lips.
“How many times did you fuck her?”
He didn’t want to lie to her, nor did he want to talk about Kaysa right then. “We’ll discuss it later.”
Janelle’s hand landed in the center of his chest, and her soft expression hardened with determination. “We’ll talk now. Answer the question.”
“A few times,” he grumbled grudgingly.
“Do you lo—uh, have feelings for her? Because she sure as hell seems to have them for you.”
“No.”
He’d served Kaysa through the last of her three heats, but it had been nothing more, not on his part. It was unusual for a female to choose the same warrior more than once, but he’d assumed Kaysa chose him because he was safe and familiar. Yet, he didn’t believe the female harbored romantic feelings for him. It wasn’t her nature, and he had the uneasy feeling her play for dominance against Janelle had more to do with his position as chieftain.
“Does she live here?” Janelle continued.
“She lives in the village.”
His mate frowned, obviously unhappy with his clipped answers. “Then, why was she here?”
“The females come here when they are close to their heat so that they may find a warrior to ease them.”
“Uh huh, well, that stops now. We’ll figure out a way for them to have access to the warriors when they need them, but unless they work here, I don’t want them in the palace anymore, especially not your ex.”
“Ex?”
“Former lover,” she clarified.
“Whatever you want, rikka.”
The females on his planet had been spoiled and catered to for a long time. They expected to have their way and their choice of warrior to bed, and it had turned some of them selfish and entitled, with Kaysa being one of the worst offenders. Once every few months, she swept through Roak Palace, ordering about the warriors and doing as she pleased as if she was lady of the palace.
Much of the blame resided with him, and he knew it. He should have put a stop to her behavior months ago, but instead, he’d indulged her. Well, that wasn’t completely true. Once her heat had ended, he hadn’t much cared what she did or where she went. She wasn’t his mate, so he didn’t have to worry about her becoming pregnant, and until she returned during her next cycle, he thought nothing of her.
Maybe it sounded harsh, but like every warrior, he’d sworn an oath to protect the females of their race. To that, he was committed, but he felt nothing for Kaysa beyond duty.
Janelle’s sigh brought him back to the moment. “I know it’s not fair of me to say this, but I don’t want you to see her again.”
“I would never dishonor you by seeking out another female.”
“Yeah, okay. Great.”
The sadness in her eyes made his chest feel too tight. Then it dawned on him that his mate was seeking reassurance. “Janelle, look at me.” When she ignored him, he took her chin and tilted her face up. “I would never seek out another female because I don’t want anyone but you.” Taking her hand, he pressed it flat against his chest. “My heart beats for you, rikka. You are the one I want, the one I love.”
That hard gaze softened as moisture gathered along her lower lashes. “Good, because I love you, too, and I have no intentions of sharing you.”
His heart stopped beating. “Say that again.”
Her smile stole his breath. “I love you, Vischer. Maybe it’s too soon. Maybe I’m crazy, but whatever. I love you, and I want you all to myself.”
His mouth crashed down on hers as he caressed and grope every inch of her smooth skin he could touch. “Again,” he rasped. “Please, say it again.”
With a sweet, feminine sigh, his mate obliged him. “I love you.”
Janelle had never felt more beautiful or loved than she did in that moment with her mate’s heated gaze on her. She’d made her point, and she didn’t want to talk anymore. They’d have a lifetime for conversation, and right then, she just wanted to feel his naked body pressed against hers, moving inside her.
With that rumbling purr she loved so much, he carried her across the room where he deposited her in the center of the king-size bed, amidst its silken comforter and plush pillows of black and burgundy. He made quick work of divesting her gown, shredding the fine material right down the center.
His eyes burned red, seemingly alight with their intensity, and his gaze raked over her nude body as he stripped out of his own clothing. Her heart hammered up into her throat, making it difficult to breathe, but she didn’t fear him. His aggressive display of power only fueled her desire, pushing her lust to a fever pitch.
Crawling onto the mattress, his muscles writhing and flexing beneath his golden skin, he gripped her knees, roughly spreading her thighs before settling in between them.
“I want to taste you, rikka.” His canines extended below his upper lip, and he purred again as he traced a finger down her slit. “Once I start, I’m not going to stop, not until you’re breathless and weak. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she breathed, his words creating a firestorm in her lower belly.
“If you don’t want that, tell me now.”
Janelle said nothing, holding his gaze as she squirmed atop the comforter while he continued to tease her with light, feathery touches.
“Tell me,” he commanded before dipping his head to skim the tip of his tongue along the top of her cleft. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No,” she panted, rocking her hips, trying to get closer to his mouth. “Don’t stop.”
Throwing an arm across her hips, he held her immobile, pinning her to the bed as he parted her slick folds, baring her pussy to his gaze. Still, he teased her, gliding his tongue over her flesh in light, feathery strokes that both enticed and frustrated her. A fang scraped against her throbbing clit, a tiny pinch of pain that nearly undid her.
“Oh, fuck, Vischer! Please!”
Vischer growled loud enough to shake the windows, and her whole body bowed up from the mattress when he wrapped is lips around the throbbing bundle of nerves between her thighs and sucked hard. Two, thick fingers circled her entrance, dipped inside, then retreated as he continued to torture her clit.
Mindless with desire, Janelle moaned and whimpered, thrusting her hips against his mouth, trying to capture his digits. When he finally pushed all the way inside her, she was so close to the edge she could barely hold herself together.
Pumping his fingers into her wet heat, he drove her ruthlessly, pushing her closer and closer to orgasm until her entire world finally shattered into prisms of ecstasy.
Still trembling from her release, she had no chance to recover before he slid up her body, kissing a trail of liquid fire across her skin. His fingers still moved inside her, hitting all the right places, stroking her until she begged him to fill her.
“My beautiful mate,” he murmured, his voice muffled against her stomach. “I can’t get enough of you. The sounds you make, the way your body responds to my touch, I want more.”
Tangling her hands in his ebony hair, she widened her legs and arched into him, offering herself shamelessly.
“Yes,” he growled as he nuzzled against her breast. “I want to see you fall apart again, feel your release spill into my hand.”
Catching her erect nipple between his teeth, he tugged hard as he twisted his digits inside her, sending her careening over the edge once more.
Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath, but apparently, her mate hadn’t finished with her. Lifting her off the mattress, he flipped her around, holding her up on her knees as he pulled her flush with his body, her back pressed firmly against his hard chest. He took her wrists, lifting her arms over her head until they stretched back to encircle his neck.
“Don’t move,” he ordered, his voice a low, sexy growl.
With his hands on her hips, he kicked her thighs apart with his knees, then positioned the crown of his thick cock at her entrance. Slowly, he rocked into her, invading her depths in measured increments as he reached around to cup her swollen breasts. Once seated to the hilt with his hips pressed firmly against her backside, he rolled his hips in slow, sensual waves, grinding into her, filling her more completely than she’d ever felt.
One hand slid down her stomach, caressing her sweat-dampened skin, over her hip, up the inside of her thighs. Panting, aching, and desperate, Janelle struggled to hold onto his neck rather than taking his hand and guiding it to where she needed it most.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long. Reaching between her thighs, he found her clit without error and drew quick, hard circles around the flesh while he pinched and tugged at her nipple with his free hand. Sensations bombarded her, stealing her breath until she felt lightheaded and delirious with pleasure.
His touch, his taste, his scent—Vischer surrounded her, overwhelmed her senses, consumed her.
As the fire between them burned hotter, his tempo increased until he thrust into her dripping core with hard, untamed abandoned. His basal growls and her throaty moans mingled with the sound of skin slapping against bare skin, creating an erotic symphony that echoed off the high ceiling, building to the ultimate crescendo.
Gripping a handful of her hair, Vischer pulled her head back on her shoulders, exposing the slope of her throat. Knowing what he intended, she closed her eyes and arched her neck, needing his bite as much as he needed to bite her.
But his canines didn’t pierce her skin. Instead, he stroked his tongue over his mating mark, growling with satisfaction when she cried out his name. Light exploded inside her, need flooded her, and she jerked in his arms as her pussy convulsed around his throbbing cock.
Vischer held her tight, his arm locked around her waist in an iron grip as he roared, pumping hard and fast, chasing his own climax. When he stilled and shuddered around her, Janelle braced herself for what came next, but it was no use. As the head of his cock swelled inside her, locking him in place, and his warm seed filled her depths, she hurdled headlong into another blinding orgasm.
For a long time, she floated, feeling completely sated—and just as promised—totally weak. When the world finally came back into focus, she found herself stretched out on the mattress, cradled in her mate’s strong arms. He nuzzled against her neck, his face lost in her hair, and stroked her sensitive skin as he whispered the sweetest words of love and devotion.
Her whole life, she’d been searching for something she couldn’t quite name. For a while, she’d thought she’d found it in her music, but there, curled against Vischer’s chest, she finally felt whole. Life with a chieftain on an alien planet would never be easy. There was so much she needed to learn, things she’d have to sacrifice, but she was ready. As long as Vischer was at her side, nothing else mattered.
Long moments later, she opened her eyes when she heard him murmur something against her skin in a sleepy voice. “What was that, love?”
He purred and tightened his arms as if he couldn’t get close enough to her. “Sing for me, rikka.”
Smiling, she settled into his embrace, combing her fingers through his silky hair, and sang.